Category: issues

“Adding to the storm of financial problems, New Jersey’s arts, history, and tourism industries now face a state funding reduction of up to 25 percent in the budget proposed by Gov. Corzine this month. Arts officials say the decrease – about $9 million, if approved by lawmakers – might close some organizations and cut operations at others.”

“Recently, more than a dozen local foundations gathered to discuss whether to pool their money into an emergency fund for struggling charities and to share ideas about how to use resources limited by the stock market’s plunge.”

“As education becomes an export product, Dutch universities are increasingly switching to English as the language of instruction — some say that higher education is suffering as a result.”

“For one thing, we get identification from our sports frenzy, the experience of seeing ourselves in the exploits of another.”

“Since many theater companies now encourage playgoers to recycle their programs, why not place two transparent recycling containers in the lobby after the show, one marked CHEERS and the other JEERS? That strikes me as a neat and practical method of reaping the benefits of booing while simultaneously minimizing its incivility.”

“In addition to this being a crappy time for Las Vegas generally, it is an especially crappy time for the arts in a town with a strangely ambivalent relationship to art–a town known for its aesthetic showmanship and for being a cultural lightweight. The backdrop to the arts community’s woes, meanwhile, is the impending start to construction of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, a $465 million theater facility slated for Downtown Las Vegas’ Union Park development.”

“Citing declining ticket sales, costs associated with layoffs and a massive impairment charge, Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. swung to a loss of $1.07 billion on revenue of $384 million in the last three months of 2008, the company reported Thursday.”

“There’s pretty good evidence that we generally don’t truly want good information — but rather information that confirms our prejudices. We may believe intellectually in the clash of opinions, but in practice we like to embed ourselves in the reassuring womb of an echo chamber.”

“Amid an economic downturn, the Las Vegas city council has approved financing on a $475 million performing arts center in a bid to add some elegance to the city’s notorious glitz. Construction could begin this spring on The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in downtown.”

“Taking an orchestra seat at the New York City Ballet or New York City Opera can often sound like this: ‘Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me’ and on. The rows of up to 56 seats have no aisles, so a patron can potentially knock knees with dozens of others. But that is going to change.”